Dumpster fire suspect allegedly bragged on Facebook

Tuesday

May 21, 2013 at 8:00 AMMay 21, 2013 at 8:01 PM

By Scott J. Croteau

WORCESTER — The man still being sought on suspicion of setting Dumpster fires in the city allegedly bragged about setting the fires and even posted video links on Facebook of music videos with "fire" in the titles. A second man is in custody in connection with last week's fires.

An arrest warrant has been issued for John Shyllberg, 29, as a suspect in last week's Dumpster fires. According to a search warrant affidavit on file in Central District Court, Mr. Shyllberg sent a Facebook message to a friend stating, "We made the paper."

The message had a link to a telegram.com article about the fires.

A tip to Worcester police led them to a man who saw the Facebook message, according to the affidavits. The man allegedly identified Mr. Shyllberg and Brian Sampson, the man arrested last week as the two men on video surveillance footage from the ABC Market on Granite Street.

The tipster told police the vehicle seen on the video is owned by Mr. Sampson, according to the search warrant affidavits.

A quick look at Mr. Shyllberg's Facebook page shows he posted a video for a song titled, "Firestarter" on May 14 and then another song "I Started a Fire" on May 15.

During their investigation, police also discovered a stack of Worcester Magazine newspapers and lighter fluid in a car and seized the items as potential evidence. A friend of Mr. Shyllberg used the vehicle, the affidavits said. Worcester police said in the search warrant affidavit that several Dumpster fires on May 10 on Cambridge, Kansas and Sherman streets were started with the rolled up Worcester Magazine newspapers.

On the same day fires were started at White City in Shrewsbury the same way.

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Police have seized copies of the newspaper, bottles of lighter fluid and cell phones.

Mr. Sampson, 26, of 38 Siani Road, Leicester, was arrested at his home Thursday, and after an interview with investigators at police headquarters, he was charged with four counts of willful and malicious destruction of property and arson.

He was arraigned last week. On Tuesday, A dangerousness hearing for Mr. Sampson was rescheduled to May 28. He remains in custody.

Police have not linked Mr. Sampson and Mr. Shyllberg to all of the Dumpster fires in the area or to the three-alarm blaze that destroyed the warehouse and distribution building at Gibson's Dairy Farm on Sunderland Road.

Police are asking for information on the whereabouts of Mr. Shyllberg. People can send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD + your message or send an anonymous web based message at worcesterma.gov/police. Calls can also be made to the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at (508) 799-8651.